Howl of Darkness
by Hallowed Hysteria
Summary: Yay! It has a title! I also edited it. I'd appreciate it if you read this story and perhaps left some constructive criticism.
1. The Start of It All

Hello! This is the mighty (and slightly senile) Great Guardian Wolf speaking!! I am proud to present my second solo fiction!! My first one sucked and was a script fic so I was kinda' screwed in two ways there. Anyway, I entreat you (Aren't big words fun? And no I don't mean you) to review. I will accept constructive criticism, but no flaming!! Also, If you have any ideas for a title let me know. Enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts! If you intend to sue the only thing you will get is a slightly psychotic cat...

Chapter1

The Start of It All

A lone girl stands on a platform of elegant stained glass, surrounded by darkness. She looks around strangely at what is before her. Then seemingly out of nowhere a strange voice speaks to her "So much to do, so little time" It boomed, shaking the large pillar of. "Take your time" It then said in a gentler tone. The girl was now very confused, especially due to the voices obscure comment. She stepped forward a bit and jumped back as three gray pedestals shot up out of the glass floor. Each pillar had a different weapon on it. The first had a blue and green staff, the second a sturdy black and red shield, and the third was a large sword, with its hilt intricately crafted of bright silver. Almost without thinking, she delicately grasped the sword and held in front of her face for closer inspection. She stared blankly at the bright metal it was formed of then tossed it gently from hand to hand to test its weight. The voice once again spoke "Is this the path you seek?" It boomed, its voice echoing through the darkness. The girl looked down at the blade in her hand and slowly nodded. The girl cringed as the sword disappeared in a flash of white light. She just began to recuperate for temporary blindness when the voice spoke again. "Which do you wish to give up?" It asked loudly. The girl had absolutely no trouble with this decision. She automatically ran towards the green and blue staff, since she had absolutely no affinity for magic. She slowly grabbed it and spoke. "This is the power I wish to give up." She whispered. "Then it is settled." Said the voice as the staff was gone in a burst of light exactly like the sword before it. "You have given up the power of the mystic, and chosen the power of The Fang." The girl could only stand there and attempt to fathom the last words of the mysterious voice.

Without a moments notice the girl was whisked away to yet another stained glass platform. After she had just realized what had happened she felt an unfamiliar weight in her right hand. She looked down to see the sword she had chosen on the first pillar of glass. She continued to admire the blade while a small shadow like creature arose from the floor. The creature had two scraggly antennae, a curved back, large yellow eyes, and sharp claws that if they were to get a hold of you could probably rip a pretty big hole in your flesh. The creature of darkness caught sight of the girl and slowly advanced towards her. "Look out!!" yelled the strange disembodied voice, trying to warn her. The girl quickly turned around and slashed at the hunched over shadow. Instead of bleeding and letting out a high pitched shriek of pain, as many normal living things would, it instead turned into a sort of deep black smoke that writhed around her blade then sluggishly rose into the air. The girl was completely clueless as to what she had just done. She had barely stopped to take a break and sort things out when more of the shadow beasts appeared from the floor, fixing their large yellow eyes on her.

After fighting many shadow beings on many different stained glass platforms a large staircase of floating stained glass panels. Of course, the fact that it was floating did nothing to make the girl feel any better. She hesitantly climbed stair after stair until she decided to go back. She boldly turned around and took a step. In a split second she was grabbing the edge on one of the wafer thin glass steps. Her head jerked downwards to give her a view of her feet dangling over the endless dark abyss. Gradually she raised herself back to the top of the platform, muttering curses as she did so. The girl waved her hand through the empty air, mystified at the absence of the stairs. She was now shivering with fright and looked back at the last, far off pillar. She shakily got to her feet and began to cautiously walk up the stairs once again.

The girl had reached the final platform and walked to the center when the spiritual voice spoke again. "Remember" It began. "The closer you get to the light the greater your shadow becomes" The girl was again puzzled by the voices vague comment. She looked down and began to ponder about her current situation. While she stood there in thought she noticed something strange. For a moment she even thought she was crazy, for she saw her very own shadow grow and take a large dark form. The girl looked up in horror as the shadow approached her. In her frantic state, she picked up the sword and began to wildly slash at the shadows vulnerable hands. She continued to attack it with seemingly no avail. After a few moments the enormous shadow finally crashed to the ground, making the very Earth rumble. The shadow, on its hands and knees, slowly began to melt into the stained glass floor. The girly backed away, frightened and trying to escape the darkness that pervaded across the pillar. She was unable to escape and the darkness began to consume her. As she sank into the shadows she heard the disembodied voice again. "Don't be afraid, for your heart is the mightiest weapon of all." It called out to her as she sank into the darkness.

The girl was not able to breathe. It was cold, dark, and...wet? She slowly opened her eyes to see a large Golden Retriever sitting on top of her and licking her face in greeting. She laughed quietly and turned to a small alarm clock. The bright red numbers, of course, gave her no good news. It took a while for the girl's brain to react, but when it did she began a frantic attempt to shove the mammoth dog, which was aptly named Crusher, off of her. After quite a few minutes of tangling with the large ball of fur she began her mad-dash of getting ready for school. Eventually she made it out her front door, her backpack hanging on only one arm and her hair in a mess. He mom stood at the door, waving a donut in the air and crying out "Usugi!! You forgot your breakfast!!" The girl heard her mother shouting and quickly ran back to the house. She hurriedly grabbed the donut, clenched it in her teeth, and uttered an unintelligible phrase that her mother could only assume was a thank you.

Later that day when Usugi returned home from school, she slowly trudged to her room and dropped her backpack which made a loud thud on floor. She then continued to raise a fist and shout "Too much HOMEWORK!!" towards the ceiling. She plopped down on her bed and opened a large text book. Her home work continued until nightfall. She decided to take a break from her homework and retreat to the kitchen. A few moments later she walked back to her room with a Pop-Tart clenched in her teeth which already had quite a few bites taken out of it. While traveling back to her room she noticed Crusher rapidly pawing at the door and whining. "What's the matter boy?" She said, scratching the dog behind the ears. The dog continued to paw and whimper at the door. Usugi quickly became curious and slowly opened the door. Crusher slipped his thin muzzle through the crack and managed to get the rest of him through the door. Usugi tried to stop him but was frozen at what was before her. There in the sky was a large sphere of darkness, sucking in all sorts of debris and small, nearby objects. Usugi once again got curious and ventured toward it. As soon as she reached its edge a dark creature emerged. It was the very creature from her dream. She backed up and was in a state of temporary shock. While backing up she tripped over a rock and landed in the soft, green grass. The creature of darkness reached for her and Usugi, in a seemingly futile attempt, raised her arm in front of her to block the shadow. Usugi closed her eyes to avoid seeing what she thought would be her death. A few seconds afterwards, she opened her eyes to find that she was, in fact, not dead. She looked at her raised arm to also see that it was not maimed in any form or fashion. Instead in her hand was grasped the sword from her dream. She quickly glanced from the blade to the being of darkness and knew what she had to do. 


	2. Confusion in Traverse Town

Chapter 2

Confusion in Traverse Town

Yes! I have finally posted the second chapter! Once again, no flamers please! I will accept constructive critcism though.

Usugi's face was set in look of worry and dismay. She realized that the enlarged shadow had two advantages. One, its size and obvious strength, and two, it had many smaller shadows swarming around its feet. While Usugi was awaiting her forthcoming doom, the sword began to sluggishly stir in her right hand.

The sword, as if acting of its own accord, lunged toward the miniscule shadows slashing at them wildly. Unfortunately for Usugi, she was not able to let go of the sword and was forced to stumble after it. It continued to defeat the smaller shadows until the giant one was the only one left still looming above her. The blade led Usugi up to the shadows large Medusa like head and struck into its temple. Just as her weapon pierced the pitch black flesh of the giant, there was a bright flash of light followed by darkness.

Usugi awoke, what seemed to be, hours later with the sword still grasped tightly in her right hand. As she was getting up she felt something at her waist. She looked to down to see a black scabbard, dangling at her waist. It was a simple, dark colored scabbard which was tied to one of her belt loops with smooth, red string. As Usugi was about to put her blade into the scabbard she stopped when something caught her eye. She looked up to see numerous large buildings and bright signs that labeled many different shops. Usugi wandered aimlessly through the streets, so many questions without answers floating in and out of her mind. While walking through the dimly lit streets she came across a small building which was tagged with a sign that said "Accessories".

She walked slowly into the shop to notice someone at the front counter. It was a blonde haired, middle aged man that was sitting in an office chair with his boots propped up on the counter. He looked to be soundly asleep and had a magazine that read "Gummi Monthly" covering his face. Every few seconds he would stir and mumble a few meaningless phrases under his breath. Usugi slowly approached him with great caution as if she were to make the smallest noise she would trigger a large nuclear explosion. Usugi finally reached the counter and poked one of the man's brown, grease splotched boots. "Um, excuse me." she whispered, trying to get his attention. The man squirmed a bit but nothing else. "Excuse me." she repeated a bit louder. Once again the man did not stir. By this point Usugi's patience was running out. She looked over at a small fire place to notice a fire poker and a black kettle.

Usugi put on an evil grin, picked up the fire poker, and hit against the kettle. As the fire poker struck the kettle, there was a large crash which made the man tumble out of the chair and fall onto the floor. The man quickly rose revealing a whiskered face and a small wooden toothpick that hung out the side of his mouth. As the man stood straight up he shook his fist and shouted "I told you I paid the bill last month you god damned sharks! Can't you just leave me in peace you bastards?" He then realized that it of course was Usugi and not even close to a bill collector. "Oh great, another one." he mumbled, shaking his head.

"Well I'm not exactly glad to see you either!" Usugi stated, giving him a stern glare. "As I was saying gramps," she said as she continued "where exactly are we?"

"First of all it's Cid, not gramps. Call me that again and you'll be outta' here and back out in that storm before you can say 'Orichalcum'" the man replied while sweeping a few metal shavings off of his grease-splotched shirt. "Second of all, this town is Traverse Town. It's place where all the people who have escaped from their destroyed worlds gather. I guess you could say it's kinda' like a sanctuary of sorts." He pulled a small, oily rag out of his back pocket and began to polish his aviator goggles.

As soon as Cid finished his sentence Usugi went into a panic "OhmygodI'msoconfused! Idon'tknowwheremyfamilyisoranyoneelseandIhardlyknowhereIamasitisandIdon'thaveafreakin'clueastowhat'mgoingtodonextand AAAAHHHH!" She screeched at the top of her lungs, flailing her arms franticly about in a fury of pure confusion.

"It's okay! You can calm down now!" Cid said in an urgent tone. "If it's any consolation there's a kid with the same problem." Usugi stopped to stare at him, looking as though she woken up from a deep sleep with numerous tangles in her waist long hair. Cid took a deep breath of relief and continued with his explanation. "If I'm not mistaken he was here just a few moments ago. He should still be floating around town here somewhere." he stated scratching his head and the toothpick in his mouth bobbing rhythmically up and down.

"Thanks Mister Cid!" said Usugi cheerfully, leaving no traces of the insane incident that occurred moments ago. "Oh, and gramps," she added as she walked out the door "Eh heh...er...I'm...um...sorry about the kettle." Usugi said apologetically, motioning towards the remains of a cast iron kettle that lay in the fire place embers. As soon as the last word left her lips she was gone and the accessory shop was once again empty all except for a slightly confused Cid.

Usugi stood outside the door to Cid's shop, gazing up at the bright sky. She looked up at the stars expecting to see a familiar constellation or two. The search was to no avail. No matter how hard she looked, to her, it would still look like a jumble of numerous white dots. Usugi tried to concentrate on one of them that she thought was the North Star, but as soon as she glared at it for a few moments it slowly began to flicker and become dimmer and dimmer. Eventually it went out all together. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head to make sure it wasn't some sort of delirium causing these images. Even though she almost shook her head off of her shoulders and rubbed her eyes out of her sockets a spot of darkness still remained in the place where the star was.

Usugi once again set her sights downward, starting her search for the boy Cid had mentioned. Just as she looked towards the stone walkway she saw a pool of gloomy liquid from which shadows ushered forth. A few slashes here, and a few slashes there soon dismissed them all. Usugi was given a few moments of glory until she heard the sound of clicking boot heels behind her.

If you are of the darkness why do they attack you?" said a voice from behind her. She whirled around, almost falling flat on her face, with sword In hand. Before her was a man dressed in black. His face had an almost white pallor and his brown hair was spiked to the side. He was clad in boots with exterior steel toes and a black jacket with a red symbol and fur collar. The man made a slow advance towards Usugi from out of the shadows. "If this is a trick it isn't a very good one." He said, looking down at her with a condescending glare that seemed to just say 'I'm better than you'.

"Is it you that's just crazy, or is this whole place just a giant mental institution?" Usugi replied. She returned a stare to him except this one seemed to say some thing more along the lines of 'You're just a freakin' stuck up psycho aren't you?'

"The blade you hold is only be wielded by those of the dark." Commented the man," Its very destiny is to destroy those of the light." He now began to circle like a vulture around Usugi, almost as if looking to kill her in the most expedient way possible.

"Who in the hell do you think you are?" Usugi questioned persistently. Her light gray eyes slowly followed the man in black until he came to a halt.

"It is none of your concern," he began, "Just hand over the sword and no harm will come to you." The man reached out his hand in an expectant manner. A few moments of silence passed and Usugi picked up her sword, ready for battle.


	3. Bedposts are Thine Enemies

Chapter Three

"Alright kid, you're asking for it." Said the man in black with a shrug, "I guess I'll just we'll just have to do this the hard way." With that, the man also raised his gun-like blade and pointed it in Usugi's direction.

She grimaced slightly then ran towards him, the edge of the blade shining in the dim light of the street lamps. The man merely grinned smugly and his blade was instantly turned sideways to parry her wild blow. Usugi tried to manage a smug grin as well, but was unable to as she tried to force back the man's sword. He almost effortlessly held her back as if she was a miniscule insect beneath the mighty paw of a lion. Despite her valiant, but futile efforts, she was pushed backwards, landing on the cobble-stone streets with a light 'thud'. Usugi's eyes opened wide as the next thing she saw was the steel colored blade pointed directly at her neck. She was too stunned to try and crawl away, or even move at all for that matter.

"Good, but not good enough." The man said as he cast a shadow over Usugi. His face had become rather solemn and emotionless as he looked directly at her. Just then, she did something completely different than giving up her blade to this stranger. She instead was able to kick the man's hand, causing him to let go of his blade. The weapon fell and clattered on the street as it fell a few feet away. While the man was paying attention to the state of his sword, Usugi made a swift kick to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As the stranger reeled backward towards the brick wall of a nearby brick building, clutching his abdomen, she got up as quick as possible and watched him as he tried to regain composure. A rather gleeful look of pride and accomplishment spread across Usugi's face. She had defeated this threat all by herself and felt rather victorious

"Good but not good enough" She said to the man mockingly. Usugi was just about to run away while the man was disarmed, but felt something grip the back of her neck. Her look of self-satisfaction instantly turned to one of confusion as she fell down, unconscious. Just behind where she once stood was a woman with short black hair whom wore a pair of khaki colored shorts and a small, olive green tank top that showed a large portion of her midriff. She had a big smile which made her seem both harmless and innocent. This was quite contrary to the truth.

"You're losing it, Squall." She said in an almost jaunty sing-song tone. The man in black grimaced as she mentioned the name 'Squall' "I told you" he replied, "My name is Leon." He cringed as he stood up straight and took one last look at the unconscious Usugi.

What seemed to be several hours later, seeing as how it's rather hard to measure time when you're out cold, Usugi regained consciousness for the second time that day. She thought that she was now safely in her own room and that everything that had happened before was a dream, a dream that seemed all too real. This idea of hers was soon proven wrong when she realized she was somewhere unfamiliar.

It was a room, sure enough, but was quite different from hers. The carpet was tattered and was an odd shade of orange with a few faded gold designs around the fringes. The surface of the ancient fabric was dotted with foot prints and the occasional splotches of caked mud. The walls of the room were in a much better condition than the floor and were colored a nice, deep shade of forest green.

While Usugi was speculating about where exactly she was, she noticed two things that were, in reality, blatantly obvious. The first one being that she was sitting on the floor of this very room and tied to the top right post of a small and rickety wooden bed. The second was that someone was lying on this bed, sleeping soundly. The sleeping character appeared to be just a boy about the age of fourteen and had a large amount of oddly spiked brown hair on his head. The clothing he wore was just as strange as his hair-do. The top part of the boy's garb was rather complex and consisted of what looked to be a black and white short sleeved hooded jacket, the hood of which was also black and the sleeves fringed with bits of gray. Underneath that was a plain red zip up shirt and he wore, on his hands, a pair of fingerless gloves. The lower part of the outfit was a pair of puffy shorts of a scarlet hue. He also wore an over-sized pair of yellow shoes that were rather similar to those of a clown.

Usugi's attention was almost averted from the boy when she caught a glimmer of something out the corner of her eye. It was a silver chain around his neck. On the end of the ordinary chain was a small silver charm in the shape of a crown. Her interest was held until she heard the creak of a door hinge. Usugi's head spun around and her gaze soon met the man in black. All in just a single moment she recalled the entire battle and the outcome, she just couldn't remember what happened directly after or exactly why she was tied to a bed post.

"You…" said Usugi, her voice dripping with a sense of hatred as she glared at the man. The stranger in black glared back down at her then walked over to one of the walls and leaned against it. A few seconds of silence passed by before another person walked in. It was the woman with short black hair, wearing a rather cheery expression where the man's was rather glum.

"Well, at least one of you is awake." Stated the woman as she looked toward the ceiling. She placed her pointer finger upon her chin and was deep in though with an almost vacant gaze. Then, almost out of the blue, the woman got an idea and began to walk towards the bed. She raised her hand, fanned out her fingers, and smacked the boy across the face. The sound of it frightened Usugi and even gave the shady man in black quite a jolt. "Hey, wake up you lazy bum!" the woman said in an irritated tone.

The boy the moved slightly and gave a slight groan as he began to stir. One of his eyes popped open to stare blankly at the woman. The iris of the eye was an intriguing shade of blue which added to his already peculiar appearance. "Kairi, is that you?" He inquired in a droning voice. "Kairi, I'm so glad you're okay." As the boy said, a small grin came upon his face. He almost seemed drunk, but happy none the less.

"I'm not Kairi!" said the woman sounding insulted "I'm the great ninja, Yuffie!"

At this statement the boy's expression turned to a frown as he came out of a temporary daze. He realized that this was not the person that he both thought and hoped it was. "I think you overdid it, Squall" said Yuffie as she looked back at the man in black.

"I told you the, the names Leon." in an angry and agitated tone.

"Hey! That's mine!" The boy instantly yelled as he pointed to something located in a nearby corner. Usugi's gaze followed the extended finger and came to a gigantic key in the corner. The thing that separated it from the normal look of a key, besides the fact it was obviously much bigger than normal, was that it seemed more like a weapon than anything. The object began with a square's outline, no bigger than a person's head, and had a silver colored shaft of metal going through it horizontally. In the same direction on the outside of the square there was a longer pole of the same metal, except it ended in three prongs that were shaped like the crown that hung around the boys neck.

"The Keyblade...Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures." Explained Yuffie to Sora. "It turns out that's how they were tracking you."

"It was the only way to conceal your heart from them." said Leon as he stood up straight and took a single step forward. "But it won't work for long. It's still hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one." At this, he grabbed the Keyblade and swung it. The weapon instantly disappeared in a small flash of light and reappeared in the boy's gloved hands. The boy ran his hand along the smooth metal, a combination of awe and bewilderment on his face. His face then jerked towards Leon and Yuffie.

"Why don't you start making sense?" He questioned in a slightly annoyed tone "What's going on here?" The boy still sat on the bed, ready and waiting for an answer to come.

"That might not be a good idea." Said Usugi. She made the boy jump slightly, seeing as how he wasn't aware of her presence until just now. "People who randomly tie other people to bedposts aren't exactly the common definition of friendly, don't ya' think?" The boy then looked up at Yuffie and Leon. Yuffie was grinning sheepishly and Leon rolled his eyes.

"We'll get to that later." said Leon blandly as he lazily motioned towards Usugi with a small sweep of his hand. She quickly stuck her tongue out at him while he wasn't looking.

"Anyway," began Yuffie as she now sat down on the bed a few inches away from the boy "As you now undoubtedly know, there are many worlds out there, including this town of course. The worlds are connected and their existences are now threatened because of the Heartless."

The boy now interrupted the lecture-like conversation with a question. "The Heartless?" he inquired, dumbfounded. He now stared at Yuffie with a blank expression that only emphasized the fact that he was clueless.

"The ones who attacked you, remember?" Yuffie stated. She sounded rather cheerful when she explained this, unlike an exasperated adult that had to explain a new concept to a child.

"The heartless, those without hearts." Said Leon, suddenly interjecting "They are attracted to the darkness within the heats of people, and there is darkness within _every _heart. They are also the creatures that she is in league with." Leon's index finger pointed at Usugi whom didn't seem all too happy. "She is just another puppet of the darkness, trying to stop the wielder of the Keyblade."

"That's a pack of lies!" Declared Usugi angrily, her voice at a half shout "I have complete control of my own mind, thank you very much, and I don't even have the slightest idea of what the hell I'm doing here! I've suddenly plopped down in this loony bin and am being persecuted by a bunch of psychos!" After Usugi's pseudo-rant, the room grew silent. Leon looked down at her, looking rather calm, but fuming on the inside.

"Well, then" he began "I suppose you can explain why you have this in your possession." And with that, he lifted Usugi's blade for all to see. The silver hilt looked almost sinister as a few rays of light were caught by the material that was expertly crafted to resemble like a set of lupine claws. The handle looking equally menacing, decorated with fragments of ebon cloth. "This was a blade forged long ago, around the time of the Keyblade. Its purpose is to serve the darkness and kill those of the light. It can also only be used in battle by someone with a dark heart." Leon's eyes moved back towards Usugi and were now narrowed in hatred.

Usugi gritted her teeth and squinted her eyes, trying to prevent a verbal outbreak. After a few moments of silence, she succeeded in speaking without insulting someone. "Look, I just got here," she said, drawing her words out as if she were explaining something to an imbecile. "I don't know who anyone here is, I don't know where I am, and I certainly don't fully understand why I'm tied to a bed post. Furthermore-" Usugi was about to continue when there was the earsplitting sound of glass being shattered. The large window in the room had been broken, and among the translucent shards stood a shadow creature with long red claws and an oddly crafted metal helm. It was one of the heartless.

"Leon!" Yuffie screamed as she pointed at the intruder. A cringe appeared on Leon's face as he disposed of the heartless and headed towards the now empty window frame.

"Sora, let's go!" He yelled back, then jumped out the window in what most would think to be the manner of a lunatic. Yuffie simply ran into the other room and shut the door behind her. Usugi was now left alone, silently fuming. She grumbled and muttered, wishing she were simply somewhere else. During her complaining, a small shadow heartless came in through the window, searching about with its antennae. Ususgi hardly even noticed it as it stared at her with large yellow eyes. As soon as she did notice, she gave a sharp yelp of surprise and tried to inch away from the shadow. It merely turned its head to one side and gave what could be guessed as an inquisitive look. The shadow raised its claws and Usugi prepared herself for a brutal maiming. But, to her surprise, no pain came. The shadow didn't hurt her, but instead sliced the ropes that had bound her. The heartless chirruped like a cricket and scuttled away as quickly as it came.

Usugi was still sitting on the floor, her mouth slightly agape and a look of utter bewilderment upon her face. She slapped herself across the face to make sure she wasn't in some sort of dream again, then, reassured of her wakefulness, grabbed her sword and walked out of hotel room and towards the streets once again.


End file.
